Vendee Globe - Friday 23 November 2012 07:15 GMT update from Mike Golding on board Gamesa:
It’s a time to be objective for Mike Golding, on Gamesa, to keep pushing hard trying to maintain the gap to the leading boats – or reduce it – as at present they have been continually benefiting from racing in a slightly more lifted, favourable breeze.
'Opportunity will come at some point but I have been losing to them. So it is gratifying on this most recent poll to see we are on the same heading [as the boats in front] which is encouraging as I hope I have been able to stop the rot,' Golding said this morning.
He is now 260 miles behind leader Armel Le Cléac’h and, lying in seventh place, 170 miles behind compatriot Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss who is sixth.
'I just have to be a bit brave now and consider that the opportunity to get back to the leaders will come but it is not going to be very soon. It will come. It is a bit frustrating just now but then, when I look at the guys behind me, I see I have made the same sort of big gain on them.
'Looking ahead it is messy for sure. There are a few options: one seems to be to try and cut the corner a little, to stay to the east, you are more on the wind and at the moment it looks quite risky. It looks quicker at the moment but it’s still too early to say.
'One of the problems just now is what waypoint you use. I am kind of playing around with it just now. It is a difficult one.
'I still have some work to do on the hydrogenerators. I am having to manually release the pressure from time to time as the blades are not feathering as they should, but overall they are great. They are not working as efficiently as they should, it is either the hydraulics or the regulator, but the boat is washing its face with them [ie the power output generated is enough to not have to use other sources] which is very encouraging. They are fantastic and you start to think of having a system properly integrated where you can deploy them from inside the hull. There is big potential.'
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact
Sail-World.com
as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our news feed on their website. Look_here_to_see_examples
_USA_05-13[3].gif)
_USA_05-13[3][1].gif)
